Syria

• Manaf Tlass, a leading member of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, has defected and is on his way to Paris (see 11.07am).

• The Friends of Syria group, meeting in Paris, has called for broader and tougher sanctions against Syria and regime officials. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton also said Russia and China would pay a price for impeding progress toward a democratic transition in Syria (see 11.01am).

• Syrian government forces have seized control of Khan Sheikhoun, an opposition stronghold where UN observers were sheltered by rebels after their convoy was shot at in May. The Free Syrian Army say they withdrew after running out of ammunition (see 11.45am).

• In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Kofi Annan has issued a blunt warning that Syria will face a spreading civil war unless Russia, the west and Arab states end their "destructive competition" over the country (see 2.13pm).

Libya

• Militias have shut down three oil refineries in the country's east on the eve of national elections to press the transitional government to cancel the vote, AP reports citing a former rebel commander (see 3.42pm).

5.12pm:Syria: Joshua Landis, a veteran Syria-watcher, says the Tlass family's defection is "absolutely important" – "They are the keystone of the Sunni-Alawi alliance that has cemented the regime for four decades."

The Tlass defection sends the sign that the regime is done for. No longer is this uprising merely about angry young men in the countryside. It has reached to the very top. The elite Sunnis are looking for the exit door – but it will be hard to replicate this defection. Manaf got the golden parachute into Paris. His family is all out – his father, brother, wife and children. He planned this carefully. He has the power and the means.

Other generals have no bodyguards, no visas, no money ... It will be a long and painful process for most to defect.

What is more the Alawite officers have their backs to the wall.

The regime will not just collapse. This is not "The Tipping Point" but it is very significant for moral. It sends a message: the game is up.

Landis goes on to reproduce an email statement circulated in Arabic and English in the name of Manaf Tlass, which calls for mass defections. The Guardian received the same email but, although it appears authentic, we have not as yet been able to verify it.

3.47pm:Syria: The ding-dong between Russia and the US over Syria continues.

Reuters reports:

Russia hit back at US criticism of its stance on the conflict in Syria on Friday, saying Washington's suggestion that Moscow should "pay a price" for helping keep President Bashar al-Assad in power was "incorrect."

Deputy foreign minister Gennady Gatilov told Interfax news agency that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's statement went against the strategy for ending the bloodshed in Syria that was agreed by world powers last Saturday in Geneva.

We also think it is imperative to go back to the Security Council and demand implementation of Kofi Annan's plan, including the Geneva communique that Russia and China have already agreed to. So we now have them on record supporting a transition. And we should go back and ask for a resolution in the security council that imposes real and immediate consequences for non-compliance, including sanctions under Chapter VII.

Now what can every nation and group represented here do? I ask you to reach out to Russia and China and to not only urge, but demand that they get off the sidelines and begin to support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. It is frankly not enough just to come to the Friends of the Syrian People, because I will tell you very frankly, I don't think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all – nothing at all – for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime. The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price, because they are holding up progress – blockading it – that is no longer tolerable ...

Syria's currency and foreign reserves have collapsed. Sanctions on oil alone have deprived Assad of billions of dollars in lost revenues, and his ability to finance his war grows more difficult by the day. What's keeping him afloat is money from Iran and assistance from Russia and the failure of countries represented here to tighten and enforce sanctions ...

This is a regime with a massive war machine. I'm sure many of you followed the back and forth I had with the Russian government over sending the attack helicopters they were refurbishing back to Syria. And I thank the United Kingdom and other European countries for very clearly expressing their refusal to allow that ship to go forward. But there are still those who are funding the regime and providing war materiel. And they have shown no hesitance in continuing to do that. In fact, the Syrian government itself has only escalated their violence over time.

3.42pm:Libya: Militias have shut down three oil refineries in the country's east on the eve of national elections to press the transitional government to cancel the vote, AP reports citing a former rebel commander.

Militias also have cut the country's main coastal highway linking east with west, and have ransacked election commission offices in three cities.

They want Saturday's vote for a 200-member national assembly cancelled because they say the vote will marginalise the oil-rich east, which has been allocated less than a third of the parliamentary seats.

3.39pm:Syria: Jonathan Rugman of Channel 4 News suggests other key figures in the Tlass family will shortly be gathering in Paris.

Ahram Online reports that Manaf's businessman brother Firas has been living in Dubai for a while. The whereabouts of their father, Mustapha, are still unclear though he too is thought to be outside Syria.

3.22pm:Syria: "These defections send a message to those who are left, which we hope they will heed," said US secretary of state Hillary Clinton at a press conference in Paris.

She said Tlass's defection suggested Assad insiders are voting with their feet.

Sunnis such as Tlass could also serve as important figures in a post-Assad transitional government, able to keep the peace while elections are held for a new democratic Syria. Although Tlass and those like him may have blood on their hands, the opposition, which represents the Sunni majority, would likely support them rather than any Alawite candidates Assad puts forward to participate in the "transitional government" outlined by Kofi Annan's plan.

Earlier LCC representative in Paris Jaber Zaien told the Guardian that figures like Tlass should play no part in any future government for Syria (see 1.42pm).

3.11pm:Syria: The French government website France Diplomatique has posted the full text (in English) of the communique from today's Friends of Syria meeting. Here are the key points:

1. Stronger UN security council action is needed

2. The perpetrators of crimes will not go unpunished

3. Those who carry out and support repression must face stiffer and wider sanctions

4. The democratic opposition and local solidarity networks will be more actively supported

5. Humanitarian assistance for the population will be strengthened

6. The international community will stand by the Syrian people as their country is rebuilt

The reaction of the regime will be predictable: he will be branded as a traitor and tales of his corruption (and the corruption of his family, if they join him) will be extensively detailed. It will be said that he was about to be arrested on charges of embezzlement, corruption, and extortion when he fled Syria ...

The Syrian regime, however, can never explain this riddle: if those people are so bad ... how could they reach the top echelons of the regime, if it is supposed to be squeaky clean?

Manaf belongs to the group of royal brats in Syria: these were the sons of the top officials who attended the same schools and went on the same trips and who – to varying degrees – inherited power.

AbuKhalil goes on to argue that the west and the Syrian opposition should be wary of welcoming Tlass with open arms:

He was a senior commander in the Republican Guards and has blood on his hands.

Is the search for high-ranking defectors so desperate that criminals and oppressors are welcomed to join the cause?

Since the beginning of the uprising, the residents of Kafranbel have drawn signs that skewer the Assad regime and express outrage that the world has not done more to stop the killing in Syria.

2.30pm:Syria/Turkey: A fire at a refugee camp housing hundreds of Syrians has killed two people and injured six others, AP reports citing a Turkish official.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said the fire at a camp in the town of Yayladagi was believed to have been sparked by a cooking gas canister explosion.

NTV television footage showed flames bursting out of warehouses, sheltering refugee tents. Dogan news agency video showed refugees and firefighters using fire hoses. There is also a report and picture on the website of Today's Zaman.

More than 35,000 Syrians are living in refugee camps on the Turkish side of the border after fleeing the violence in their home country.

2.13pm:Syria: Kofi Annan has issued a blunt warning that Syria will face a spreading civil war unless Russia, the west and Arab states end their "destructive competition" over the country, writes Ian Black.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Annan called for an end to mutual recriminations and insisted that the support of the entire UN security council for a political transition in Damascus was a significant achievement that should not be squandered.

Photograph: Martial Trezzini/EPA

Russia does have influence and can encourage the Syrian government to implement fully the six-point plan and security council resolutions. But this task cannot be left to the Russians alone. I expect Iran to play a role. Those governments – the US and the Friends of Syria – that have influence with the opposition should also play a role. If they continue with this destructive competition everyone will lose.

They [the west] accuse the Russians of arming the [Syrian] government. The Russians accuse them of arming the opposition and flooding the place with weapons. This is instead of coming together to see what can be done."

2.09pm:Syria: Once again, Friday demonstrations are reported in many parts of the country. There have been some problems with the live feed from the Aleppo protests (see 12.13pm), so here is an alternative video via YouTube:

Above is another, said to be from the Barzeh district of Damascus. Demonstration videos are also coming thick and fast on the opposition Sham YouTube channel.

1.42pm:Syria: The people on the street in Syria wanted "much more" from the Friends of Syria conference, according to Jaber Zaien, a representative from activist group the Local Co-ordinantion Committees.

He said he was concerned that the international community was planning to put forward such figures as part of a transitional government.

The defection of Tlass is "part of the game", Zaien said.

This guy is not defecting because he felt sorry for the people, he is part of the crimes that have been committed. The fact that [the defection] was mentioned by French foreign minister during the conference was a bit alarming.

The LCC encourages any defections, he said, but that figures like Tlass should play no part in an political solution for Syria.

He's part of the regime. He's very close to the Assad family. His whole family is part of the regime that has been depressing the people for so long. A few weeks ago he was telling people inside Syria that the regime will win and everything we go back to normal. Just the idea that he succeeded in leaving the country, with his rank, is a bit suspicious.

I think the international community is heading to find a solution where they move Bashar, and give us a solution similar to the Yemeni solution [a reference to a deal to persuade president Saleh to step down in return for immunity]. This defection could be part of it. This is my first sense.

Zaien said the LCC welcomed the Friends of Syria group's pledge to support activists in Syria, but stronger action, including backing for a no-fly zone.

We were hoping for much more. It is difficult [to call for a no-fly zone] when the opposition is not calling for it directly. There was no clear demand from the opposition representative on that subject. We were hoping for a no-fly zone and even more support for the Free Syrian Army.

This is what the people inside Syria are demanding. They were really hoping for stronger demands from the opposition for a no-fly zone, and even intervention.

Some of the activists here demanded that directly.

We hoped that [the conference] would produce much stronger action. We don't only need some supportive communique, because that doesn't directly translate to any really help.

Some form of political solution is definitely not what the people of Syria are asking for.

1.37pm:Libya: An International Criminal Court defence lawyer held in Libya for more than three weeks says her detention shows that Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, cannot get a fair trial in Libya, AP reports.

Speaking publicly for the first time since her release Monday, Australian lawyer Melinda Taylor said Friday that her actions in Libya were "consistent with my legal obligations" under court rules. She was accused by authorities of endangering national security while meeting in Libya with Saif al-Islam.

Taylor was released by rebels in the western town of Zintan after the Hague-based court apologised for the incident and pledged to investigate her and three colleagues held with her.

Taylor says it would be "impossible for Saif al-Islam to be tried in an independent and impartial manner" in Libya.

1.19pm:Syria: Shortly before fleeing Syria, defector Manaf Tlass accused President Assad of "taking the country to hell", adding that Assad should have resigned in the early stages of the uprising, the BBC reports.

Sources close to Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, who met him days before he deserted, told the BBC he was very angry about what was happening in Syria and accused the regime of "taking the country to hell".

"If I were him, I would have done an [former Turkish leader and political reformer Kamal] Ataturk or resigned the second month the uprising began," the sources quoted him saying of Bashar al-Assad, before he left for Turkey.

Syria

• French foreign minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that Manaf Tlass, a leading member of Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, has defected and is on his way to Paris (see 11.07am).

• The Friends of Syria group, meeting in Paris, has called for broader and tougher sanctions against Syria and regime officials. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton also said Russia and China would pay a price for impeding progress toward a democratic transition in Syria (see 11.01am).

• Syrian government forces have seized control of Khan Sheikhoun, an opposition stronghold where UN observers were sheltered by rebels after their convoy was shot at in May. The Free Syrian Army say they withdrew after running out of ammunition (see 11.45am).

11.57am:Syria: Here's a jolly photo from 2000 of the late president Hafez al-Assad, plus the Tlass sons and wives with their mother, visiting Mustapha Tlass (then defence minister) in hospital. Hafez al-Assad died in June 2000.

11.17am:Syria: AFP have dug up an archive picture of Manaf Tlass with Bashar al-Assad taken in 1999.

The photo was taken in Kuwait City, when Bashar was colonel in the army.

11.07am:Syria: The French foreign minister Laurent Fabius has confirmed that Manaf Tlass has defected and is on his way to Paris, according to Reuters.

Tlass reportedly has relatives in France. Could he make a guest appearance at the Friends of Syria meeting?

We'll post more as we get it ...

11.01am:Syria: US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has repeated a call for the UN's security council to back a resolution to impose "immediate consequences" on the Assad regime.

Photograph: Raed Qutena/AFP/Getty Images

She also urged world powers on Friday to show Russia and China would pay a price for impeding progress toward a democratic transition in Syria, according to Reuters.

"It is frankly not enough just to come to the Friends of the Syrian People (meeting) because I will tell you very frankly, I don't think Russia and China believe they are paying any price at all - nothing at all - for standing up on behalf of the Assad regime," Clinton said at a gathering of countries seeking to speed the departure of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"The only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that Russia and China will pay a price because they are holding up progress - blockading it - (and) that is no longer tolerable."

France's President Francois Hollande shakes hands with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton as German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle looks on. Photograph: Reuters

10.56am:Syria: Defecting from the Syrian regime is far from easy and involves considerable risk. An article in today's Wall Street Journal describes how one oil ministry official, Abdo Husameddin, fled the country last March. Separately, the Guardian has also spoken to a source with knowledge of several defections.

The usual first step, if time allows, is to transfer as much money as possible out of the country because anything left behind is liable to be seized. In Husameddin's case his assets and bank accounts in Syria were frozen, according to the WSJ report.

Close relatives are also at risk if they remain in Syria so – again – it is best to get them out of the country before defecting. This happened with Manaf Tlass's family: some of them crossed into Lebanon a few days ago.

The regime likes to claim that the relatively small number of defections by civilian officials is a sign of their loyalty to Assad, but the personal cost of defecting can be extremly high and safe passage out of the country is becoming increasingly difficult. The WSJ article says:

Government officials now need state security authorisation to leave the country, even for brief work travel, Mr Husameddin and other current and former officials said.

Authorisation used to come from the prime minister, they said. But in closing ranks around his core regime, Mr Assad has tasked a few key security agencies to control the travel of officials, these officials said. Even in Syria, their families are kept under strict surveillance, they said.

10.42am:Syria: The defection of Manaf Tlass is the "talk of the town" among Syrian rebels in southern Turkey, Martin Chulov reports after a spending the last four days in Aleppo province.

[Tlass] was a leading Sunni general he ran a brigade within the Republican guard. He was trusted. I wouldn't say he was a direct member of the inner sanctum, but he was certainly taken into the confidence of the inner sanctum. For him to flee to Turkey, and we believe to Paris with his family, is the first high-profile defection we have had so close to regime.

The Alawite regime is using Tlass' status as a Sunni to dismiss the defection, Martin said.

He added:

But it does matter. He was one of the most trusted members of the Sunni community within the government. [Tlass] came from Rastan which has been particularly heavily hit. He had been known to be disaffected for some months and there had been rumours that he was under virtual house arrest.

[The defection] was the talk of the town this morning. We were out and about with various rebels in southern Turkey. They all knew about it and it had emboldened them. They thought that it would potentially be a lightening rod for other senior officers still inside Syria.

The area around Aleppo is under complete siege and mostly under the control of the rebels, Martin said. "There were no women, no children. The only people in these towns were men of fighting age. There were shells peppering the day and the night. It is almost a situation of full blown war there," said Martin.

There are areas inside Syria that are safe from the army, in part because of the presence of Turkish troops at the border, he pointed out.

There is a de factor buffer zone in all but name. It doesn't extend the entire length of the border. But rebels do know where it is, and they can go their and seek refuge or resupply. There are numerous places along the Syrian border with Turkey where people can cross.

The situation in Syria is miserable and it's going to get worse. It's a particularly torrid situation inside. Rebels know that they are locked into a grinding war of attrition. They do say that Syria army is tired now. A lot of divisions around Idlib and Aleppo are not particularly battle ready. They are struggling, as well as the opposition, to get their army on the move and resupplied.

There may be a couple more high-profile defections, like today. If that happens it could be a game-changer. But my sense it is going to steadily deteriorate.

9.19am: French President François Hollande has called for stiffer sanctions against Syria and more support for the rebels, Reuters reports.

"Bashar al-Assad must go," Hollande told a meeting of foreign ministers and senior diplomats from the "Friends of Syria" group.

"It's in the interest of Syria, of its neighbours and everybody who wants peace in the region."

Hollande said he wanted the participants at the talks - who were cheered by reports of the defection of a senior Syrian general - to also agree to step up humanitarian aid to the country.

8.35am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live on another key day for the Syria crisis. The Friends of Syria group is meeting in Paris; Friday protests are expected in Syria as the violence continues to rage; we are promised more Syria file revelations from WikiLeaks; and there's likely to be more on the reports of a key defection from Assad inner circle.

The regime so far has not used the full military means at its disposal; following Assad's declaration last week that Syria is in a civil war, there are fears that the regime could attempt larger military operations this summer to try again to settle the conflict by force.

But such an escalation would only increase the death toll without forcing a conclusion. Many units of the armed forces are not willing to engage in such an escalation, and would defect in higher numbers. There is already remarkably widespread collaboration between rebels and some members of government security forces who stay at their posts but quietly help the rebels, either for money or out of sympathy. Meanwhile, the opposition is becoming increasingly well-armed and mobile, and could survive an escalated set of assaults.

The tension Libya faces is over whether or not local militias can be trusted with a truly national role, to serve the national interest rather than home interests. The emerging political-economy of power in Libya today suggests it will be the latter ... It is strange that last year's unifying eruption of nationalism has given birth to divisive, violent localist politics, but such is the legacy of the late Brother-Leader.